This Chicken & Bean Soup is truly the ultimate comfort food. It is the one I keep on hand in the freezer. It’s one to serve to guests, take to those that need a meal, and the thing you crave when you are sick. It’s packed with veggies and fiber. The bonus? It is naturally gluten-free.
Serve it up with my Bread Bowl, French Bread, or Soft and Buttery Dinner Rolls for a complete meal that everyone will love.
The trick to making this the best chicken soup at home is the chicken broth. A store-bought broth will work in a pinch, but I really prefer homemade broth if possible. But either way, adding Chicken Base is the key to getting a good rich chicken flavor. I usually buy mine at Costco because it is so much more affordable. Chicken Base is available in most grocery stores in the soup aisle. Look up high, it’s often up above the chicken broth.
To get started making your chicken and bean soup, chop the onions, celery, and carrots. I love using my chopper for the onions and celery, but I do not advise using it on the carrots. They are just too hard to get through the grid.
Add the butter, oil, and veggies to a very large pot. I love using my 7-quart Staub for soups like this. It is a perfect size and keeps a constant temperature for keeping the soup hot. Cook the veggies until just tender. They don’t need to be completely soft.
While the veggies cook, prepare the remainder of the ingredients. You will need two cans of great northern beans, drained and rinsed.
I love using this large strainer for meals like this. It’s easy to get large vegetables clean as well as the beans. The strainer is suspended over my sink so it’s easy to have both hands free while I work on food prep.
Dice the chicken pieces to your preferred size. I like them a little smaller so that I can get a little of everything on my spoon. You can use chicken from a store-bought rotisserie chicken, previously cooked chicken breasts, or even leftover turkey in this recipe.
After the vegetables are tender, add all of the remaining ingredients to the pot. Stir gently. Let the soup simmer for about an hour for all of the flavors to combine. You may need to add additional water if the beans soak up too much or if it boils off.
Before serving, be sure to taste the soup. It may need more chicken base, salt, or pepper. Remove the two bay leaves and serve.
If you have any leftovers, this soup is perfect for meal prep. Always take the opportunity to save leftovers in the freezer for cold rainy days. I like to seal individual portions with my vacuum sealer. We then label each bag with the contents and the date the soup was made.
If looking for any additional soups, I highly recommend Broccoli Cheddar Soup or Hearty Chili.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups onion, chopped
- 2 cups celery, chopped
- 2 cups carrots. chopped
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 4 cups chicken, cooked and diced
- 2 cans great northern beans, drained
- 2 tablespoons parsley, dried
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons chicken base
- 1-3 cups water, as needed
Instructions
- Add butter and olive oil to a large pot.
- Add onions, celery and carrots to the pot. Cook until tender. Stir occassionally.
- Add broth, chicken, beans, parsley and bay leaf. Stir. Add chicken base.
- Let simmer for 60 minutes or more.
- Taste. If getting too thick, add more water. Depending on preferences you may need more chicken base or salt and pepper.
This chicken soup is the best chicken soup I have ever had. I keep wanting to call it chicken noodle soup, but it does not call for noodles. I’m actually grateful it doesn’t! I don’t like chicken noodle soup. The noodles always throw me off for some reason. I don’t know if it is the flavor or texture, but I just don’t like them. So, when I saw this recipe has beans instead, I was sold! I have never thought to replace noodles with beans. I’m grateful someone did. Although the recipe calls for diced chicken, I prefer mine shredded. I already make my own chicken broth at home with the bones from the rotisserie chicken and the older vegetables or vegetable ends in my fridge. Then I freeze the broth for future use. This recipe kind of recycles itself, it is definitely a keeper!
I am so glad you enjoyed it!